The Federal Communications Commission has expanded its Lifeline phone-subsidy program in a move to help low-income consumers gain access to Internet broadband service.
R. David Edelman, special assistant to the president for economic and technology policy, wrote in a blog entry posted Thursday that FCC’s national broadband subsidy supports a White House program that seeks to connect an additional 20 million people across the U.S. through 2020.
President Barack Obama introduced the ConnectAll initiative earlier this month and calls for agencies, companies and nonprofit organizations to collaborate to increase citizens’ access to broadband and digital literacy tools, Edelman noted.
FCC said Thursday the agency’s Lifeline program will offer subsidies for standalone broadband and bundled data and voice services.